Plum Jelly Without Added Pectin Food

PLUM JAM RECIPE WITHOUT PECTIN

Steps:

• Sterilize two 500 ml jars and their lids in boiling water for 8 minutes. Remove jars and transfer on a clean towel and let it dry naturally. Protip: This steps is optional if consuming jam within 6-8 weeks. Use clean spoon to serve.
• Keep 2 plates for cold plate test in freezer.
• Meanwhile, in a thick bottomed and wide-based pot, take sugar, lemon and plum. Cook for 15 minutes on medium flame until soft.Protip: Cooking time will vary upon the ripeness of fruit. Look for visual signs.
• Then mash plum with a potato masher for chunky jam or blend with immersion blender for smooth consistency. Cook further on slow heat for about half an hour until jam starts to thicken. Protip: Be vigilant around the jam setting point and stir frequently. Do not over-cook or caramelize sugar at the bottom.
• To test consistency put a large drop of jam on cold plate. Wait for 30 secs to cool then make a line between the jam drop with your finger. If the line meets, continue to cook for 5 more minutes. And if it sets then stop cooking. Jam is ready.
• Then ladle hot jam to sterilized jars leaving only ½ inch space empty from the lid. Also, wipe off the rim with a clean and damp towel. Place the lids and turn the jars upside down. Or follow the canning procedure and immerse the jars in the hot water bath for 5 minutes.Protip: Turning jars upside down creates a vaccuum and helps avoid condensation.
• Store jam in fridge and consume within a 1-2 months. Or freeze the jars for upto six months. You may follow canning steps if storing jam at room tempertaure for a year or more.

HOW TO MAKE WILD PLUM JELLY WITHOUT PECTIN

Steps:

• Add all of your plums to a large pot (pits and all!), with just a little water to cover the bottom of the pot.
• Cook on low heat, stirring throughout, until plums form a juice and begin to crack open.
• Use a potato masher to smash the plums.
• Strain the plums using a very small holed strainer or a cheese cloth into a pot. Allow the juice to continue to drip from the plum pulp for at least 30 minutes.
• Measure the amount of juice you have.
• For every 1 cup of juice, you can add 3/4 cup-1 1/2 cups of sugar, depending on sweetness of plums and/or preference. We wanted a tart jelly, so we used 3/4 cup of sugar per 1 cup of juice.
• Bring the sugar and juice mixture to a boil, stirring constantly. You'll want to heat the juice until it reaches the gelling point of 220 degrees. You can also check its readiness by performing the spoon test- place the jelly on a metal spoon and put it in the freezer for 1 minute. If it is "set" when it comes out, it should be good to go. I like to use both methods to test the jelly; you don't want to go through all of the work of it to not have good jelly! If for some reason though it doesn't set, you can always use it as a syrup for ice cream!
• Pour hot plum juice into sterilized jelly jars. Process in a waterbath canner for 10 minutes.

BLACK PLUM & GINGER JAM (WITHOUT PECTIN)

Steps:

• Place the chopped plums, sugar, lemon juice, lemon zest, ginger and salt in a medium sauce pan over medium-high heat. Bring the mixture to a boil, stirring occasionally. Reduce the heat to medium-low. Simmer for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
• Strain the mixture through a fine mesh sieve over a bowl, pressing down on the solids to extract as much juice as possible. Reserve the solids.
• Return the strained juices to the sauce pan. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring frequently to avoid burning. Boil until a candy thermometer reads 220 degrees (the gel stage). Remove the pan from the heat. Stir in the reserved solids.
• Transfer the jam to sterile jars, or freeze whatever jam you don't intend to use right away.
• Enjoy!